Do Not Touch It!

Do Not Touch It!

It started off as an ordinary day. That would change. Just around lunch time a man walked into my Antiques Shoppe carrying a long oblong object surrounded by a very large blanket. His first words to me were the usual when someone comes into my shop and not to buy. “Do you pay a good price when you buy an antique?”

There was such a seriousness in his asking, that I didn’t respond to him with my usual qualifier “Well, I pay a reasonable price – not anything too high.” Instead, I just said to him, “Yes, I do. That keeps me in business.” He didn’t quite smile in reply, just gave a look that I would call a look of relief.

He then leaned the object against my front desk, and carefully drew the blanket off of what turned out to be a mirror, a very old looking model that looked to be in good shape. When I went over to have a closer look at it he put his hand in the middle of my chest, and said to me “Please do not touch it. It is a Lilith mirror. Touching it could put you in a situation that you would definitely would not want to be in.”

I only knew the name Lilith as the name of Fraser’s ex-wife in the show of the same name, but I didn’t want to show my ignorance of it having a different meaning as well, so I just nodded and said, “A Lilith mirror eh. Interesting,” as if I actually knew its significance, which of course I did not.

I took a closer look at the mirror without, of course, actually touching it. It was beautiful, and seemed to have a kind of visual depth to it not to be found in a more modern mirror. I could almost say that I fell in love with it. Then I asked my usual ‘beginning of negotiation’ question, “So how much do you want for this fine antique?” I had a figure in mind that was rather high by my usual standards, but felt that it was well worth it.

He gave a figure that was almost twice my estimated purchase price. Still, we haggled a bit and we both got a decent price. We signed an agreement. His closing words to me were, “And remember. Do not touch this mirror. And tell the eventual buyer not to touch it either.”

Finding Out About Lilith Mirrors

I started doing some research into who and what Lilith was, and what a Lilith mirror was. I soon could see why Fraser’s ex-wife was given an appropriate name. I learned more from a movie that my wife and I watched on television one night, when we were desperate for entertainment. It went by the name of “Lullaby” and it involved Lilith prominently in the story. It was quite scary, about the kidnapping of infants by Lilith and her minions, and it did not have a happy ending. I wouldn’t recommend it to parents of young children. 

The standard etymology of the word ‘lullaby’ has it made up of ‘lull’ (as in to make peaceful) and ‘by’ as in nearby. However, the interpretation in the movie came from an alternative origin, the source I read called referred to it as a ‘folk etymology.’ This version had it come from ancient Hebrew and meant ‘Lilith begone”. I wonder whether Fraser was aware of that meaning when he wanted to break up with his wife, and muttered the word ‘lullaby’. In the movie it was dangerous to touch a Lilith mirror, which the main family with an infant happened to have. What were they thinking? People could be drawn into the other world of the mirror, and it was difficult to make your way back, or worse, to retrieve your baby stolen through the mirror

My First Potential Buyer

           As luck would have it, the first people to be interested in the mirror was a young couple, pushing a carriage in which there was a newborn baby. The parents walked straight to the mirror on display.  Maybe I was overly influenced by the movie that my wife and I had seen the night before, but I blurted out the warning, “Please do not touch that mirror.” They backed off as if I had just accused them of theft, or potentially damaging one of my antiques. 

           I apologized to them as fast as I could. I told them that the person that sold the mirror to me had issued that warning. I then told them that the claim was made that it was a Lilith mirror, and that meant not touching it. I outlined the main plot of the movie ‘Lullaby’.

           They turned around and left, without saying so much as a word to me, but the mother began to hum a song to their child. I think that she did it as much to calm herself down as it was to soothe her child.

The Next Potential Buyer

Another couple with an infant arrived and stared at the mirror, just as I was walking to a greatly needed pee break. I told them that I would be back in a minute. I was in such a hurry that I forgot to tell them not to touch the mirror. By the time I got back from my voyage of necessity, all three of them were gone. I thought no more about it at the time.

           The next day the man appeared again, but without his wife and child. He headed straight for the mirror. I soon saw that he was carrying some sheet music. He asked me “Do you mind if I sing?” I believe that the customer is almost always right, so I said ‘yes’ without asking any questions. He started to sing. I firmly believed that I could hear him utter the word ‘Lilith’ a good number of times. I was startled by this and backed up, only to trip over a rather large garden elf. When I got up I saw that the man was no longer alone. His wife was standing next to him, infant held and gently rocked in her arms. I offered them a more than reasonable price for the mirror, less than what I paid for it, but they just shook their heads. I could understand why. 

The Final Resort

After some thought and a serious discussion with my wife, I wrapped the mirror up with the blanket that it came with and took it to the back room and locked the door so our customers would be safe from Lilith and her mirror.  Still, there were days when an eerie voice could be heard faintly in the main room. When customers asked about it, I told them that I used a recording to create an antique atmosphere in the place.